Chapman standout Samuel chooses South Carolina

Chapman wide receiver Deebo Samuel announced on Thursday that he'll join the Gamecocks, and the two-sport star might play basketball in Columbia as well.

By KEVIN MELTON kevin.melton@shj.com

INMAN — It didn't take long for Deebo Samuel to make his college choice.The Chapman wide receiver had been ready for the moment for quite awhile.Samuel (6-foot, 190 pounds) made a short speech and quickly picked up a South Carolina hat to reveal his decision in front of a packed media center on Thursday at Chapman High School. The Shrine Bowl selection chose the Gamecocks over North Carolina and Appalachian State. He also had offers from N.C. State, Old Dominion, Vanderbilt and Charlotte.“I wanted to surprise everybody with this kind of ceremony,” Samuel said. “I've been waiting on this for awhile.”Samuel said USC made an official offer two weeks ago. He was recruited by Shawn Elliott and Steve Spurrier Jr. The pair made a trip to Chapman on Monday. Shortly after their departure, Chapman scheduled a ceremony for Thursday.Samuel said the Gamecocks assistants decided he was a good fit for their system and extended the offer.“When they decided they wanted to take me as a receiver, they weren't going to take another one.”Samuel is the school's all-time leading receiver with 166 receptions for 2,751 yards and 36 touchdowns. He also has 133 career rushes for 898 yards and 13 touchdowns and 30 kick returns for 732 yards with two touchdowns. Defensively, he has 94 tackles with 12 interceptions and two touchdowns. Samuel holds 11 school records and is second in four other categories. He is a two-time All-Region III-3A selection.Chapman coach Mark Hodge said Samuel can help South Carolina in several different ways.“I told the Shrine Bowl coaches when they talked about taking him ... 'The thing about this child is he can be your best running back, he can be your best receiver, any receiver, inside or outside,' ” Hodge said. “I said, 'He can be your best defensive back. He can be your best kick returner and probably one of your best outside linebackers.' Very rarely do you find a kid that can be the best at all those things. … He's so gifted they can about put him anywhere on the team outside of the line.”Samuel becomes the second area player to commit to South Carolina, joining Gaffney quarterback/wide receiver Shaq Davidson. Samuel said that he and Davidson are “good friends” but that he did not tell Davidson that he was committing.Samuel added that playing basketball at USC is not out of the question. He is averaging 28.5 points per game this season. He was an all-state and all-region selection last year and named a preseason Top 5 senior player in Class 3A statewide.Samuel surpassed 1,000th career points in a 94-77 win against Boiling Springs on Wednesday.“They said I could play basketball there, too,” Samuel said. “That's something I'm probably going to do.”Samuel went on to say that he has not had any contact with Gamecocks basketball coach Frank Martin.Chapman basketball coach Greg Wilson said he will assist Samuel in any way to help with the process to become a two-sport athlete.“We haven't had those conversations yet, but now that he's officially verbally committed, I'll make that call and we'll share any information we need to with Coach Martin,” Wilson said. “He definitely has the ability to play both sports. He's just a competitor.”Samuel said he's happy with his decision and excited about the future.“I like the environment and the way they treat their players,” he said. “They play the best of the best. It just feels good to get (my decision) out of the way.”